Analysis of chronically recorded autonomic nerve signals for the control of artificial heart systems

Abstract

In order to realize an artificial heart system capable of being controlled by autonomic nervous signals, we have studied the methods of long-term stable recording of autonomic nervous signals as well as methods to control an artificial heart by these signals. In this study, we have focused on algorithms to generate the control commands to an artificial heart system from recorded neural signals. We have chronically recorded signals from a goat's cardiac sympathetic nerve and vagal nerve and circulation parameters such as aortic pressure, and results of the analysis of these signals showed the feasibility of the neural control of artificial heart systems.